Guide to the Papers of the David Family, 1823-1992

Summary

Collection number:

MS 8890 et al

Creator:

David Family

Extent:

3.3 metres and (16 boxes, 1 carton, 1 folio box, 1 folder)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of the David family, National Library of Australia [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers relate to members of Anne Edgeworth's family, chiefly her grandfather Sir Tannatt Edgeworth David, her grandmother Caroline David, her mother Margaret Edgeworth McIntyre, and her aunt Mary Edgeworth David. The collection dates from the 1820s to the 1980s and is arranged by family member. All the series contain family correspondence.

The Edgeworth David component includes honours, letters of sympathy and tributes after his death, photographs, articles by and about him, and reprints of some of his papers. Included in the many letters to his family is a typescript of a letter written at Granite Harbour on 1 November 1908, to be opened by his wife Caroline in the event of his death during the Antarctic expedition. There is also the typescript of a letter written on the same day to Lieutenant E. H .Shackleton, the commander of the Nimrod.

A diary kept by Caroline David at Funafuti and later published in 1899 as 'the unscientific account of a scientific expedition' is in Series 2. There is extensive material on the Samurai sword given in gratitude to her husband by the leader of the first Japanese Antarctic Expedition in 1912, and later presented to the Australian Museum by the David family.

Margaret McIntyre's papers include her writings and papers on community schools and centres.

Mary (Molly) David's papers have a large component of letters to her niece Anne Edgeworth, and many business letters written by Anne on behalf of her aunt, negotiating the publication of 'Letters to Meg'. Handwritten drafts and illustrated typescripts of the unpublished 'Letters to Meg', as well as original typescripts with annotations of Passages of Time and Professor David, form an interesting part of the collection.

Biographical Note:

Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David, 1858-1934:The geologist and Antarctic explorer Tannatt Edgeworth David was born in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1858, son of the Reverend William David and Margaret Thomson. It was from the Thomson family that the names Tannatt and Edgeworth came.

He arrived in Australia in November 1882 to fill a position of assistant geological surveyor for the New South Wales Government, and three years later married Caroline Mallett whom he had met on the voyage to Sydney. In 1897 he and his wife joined a geological expedition to Funafuti, an atoll on the Ellice Islands, to investigate the origin of coral reef formations in the Pacific, and ten years later he accompanied Shackleton's expedition to the Antarctic (1907-9)

His reputation as an explorer, writer and lecturer was world wide. Edgeworth David's appointments at the University of Sydney included Professor of Geology and Physical Geography, 1891-1924, Chairman of the Professorial Board, and Dean of the Faculty of Science. His Geological map of the Commonwealth of Australia and a volume of Explanatory notes were published in 1932. He published 150 scientific publications and a considerable number of articles in newspapers and journals. The main David Papers with their geological emphasis are held at the University of Sydney.

He was knighted in 1920 and honoured with a Commonwealth and State funeral in 1934.

Caroline Martha David, 1856-1951: Caroline David had a long and distinguished career of service to the community. She came to Australia in 1882 to be the first woman principal of the Hurlstone Teachers Training College in Sydney, and met her future husband, Edgeworth David, on the voyage out.

In 1897 she accompanied David to Funafuti, made friends with the islanders, and kept a diary. An unscientific account of the expedition, based on the diary, was published in 1899. To her regret the published Funafuti : or, three months on a coral island did not contain her very candid social observations.

Caroline David was involved in many community organizations and was president of the Women's National Movement for Social Reform which successfully campaigned for 6 o'clock closing. She was well known as a platform speaker throughout New South Wales, especially at meetings concerning the well-being of women and children.

Margaret Edgeworth McIntyre, 1886-1948: Community worker and author of many articles on politics and welfare, Margaret Edgeworth McIntyre,eldest daughter of Caroline and Edgeworth David, spent most of her married life in Launceston where her husband William Keverall McIntyre was a medical practitioner.

As well as bringing up four children, Margaret was involved in community and welfare activities, particularly those concerned with education and youth. She was State Commissioner for Girl Guides for a number of years. A great interest was education for constructive leisure, and directing plays was how she used her leisure time constructively, for plays drew members of the community together. She was awarded an OBE in 1948 for services to the community.

Her tragic death in a plane crash near Tamworth came after only six months in Parliament. Her win in the seat of Cornwall as an independant in 1948 made her the first woman to be elected to the Tasmanian State Parliament.

Mary Edgeworth David, 1888-1987:Conservationist and writer Mary Edgeworth David, second daughter of the Edgeworth Davids, lived an almost self-sufficient life on a hectare of land in Hornsby, dying in her 99th year in 1987.

Mary David wrote a biography of her father, Professor David (1937), and she also wrote about her parents, her family, and her own life in Passages of time (1975), a book that was very well received. Letters to Meg: an old-eye view, reminiscences in the form of illustrated letters to her sister Margaret, had not found a publisher at the time of her death.

An example of her versatility was her undertaking a mechanics course in 1915 so she could service the family car.

Provenance:

The papers were purchased by the Library in 1995 from Ms Anne Edgeworth

Indexed terms

Names:

David Family

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn921114).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of the David family, National Library of Australia [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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